This disclosure relates generally to fabricating diffraction gratings, and specifically to fabricating diffraction gratings by ion beam etching.
Diffraction gratings are used in various optical devices to perform certain optical functions such as eliminating artifacts or processing color in images. These diffraction gratings typically have ridges or rulings on surface and may be made of different materials and have certain patterns. It is desirable to customize diffraction gratings for a particular purpose or configuration of related optical devices. Depending on the application, height, lower width, and angles between walls as well as the distance between the grating structures may be customized. Customized diffraction gratings are difficult to generate using conventional fabrication methods. Thus, an improved fabrication method for generating a controllable substrate profile is considered desirable.